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The illegitimate Venezuelan narco-regime has blatantly violated the terms of the Barbados Agreement by banning María Corina Machado, the leading opposition candidate, who won 90 percent of the opposition primary election vote, from participating in the upcoming election. Yesterday, the narco-regime ordered the arrest of seven more members of Machado’s campaign team and her campaign headquarters were arbitrarily surrounded by members of the regime’s intelligence force. Reauthorizing the VERDAD Act, which expired in 2019, is critically important to ensure the Maduro narco-regime is held accountable for its crimes.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) applauded the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ passage of the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development (VERDAD) Reauthorization Act.  

• “The House Foreign Affairs Committee has taken an important step by passing our VERDAD Reauthorization Act. Let there be no doubt, this bill is needed now more than ever following the evermore tyrannical tactics of Maduro and his thugs against leading opposition presidential candidate María Corina Machado and her team. It’s time for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to follow suit and pass this bipartisan and bicameral bill.” – Senator Rubio

• “The people’s choice María Corina Machado won the opposition primary with over 90% of the vote. But the Maduro regime will not let her participate in elections because they fear her popularity. The VERDAD Act was Congress’s landmark Venezuela bill which gave us the tools to fight the Chavista oppression. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.” – Congresswoman Salazar

Flashback … The VERDAD Act first passed in 2019 and was introduced to support efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela by sanctioning key regime officials while safeguarding the rights and liberties of those escaping socialist persecution. 

Want more information? 

• March 2024: Rubio, Durbin, Cassidy, Cardin: “Maduro is Scared to Confront Machado in a Truly Democratic Process”
• January 2024: Rubio and Colleagues: the Time to Act on Venezuela is Now
• December 2023: Rubio Urges Biden to Reinstate Sanctions on Venezuelan Regime
• November 2023: ICYMI: the Biden Admin Must Stop Imposing Its Naïve Policies on Venezuela
• October 2023: Rubio, Kaine on Venezuela’s Opposition Primary Elections
• October 2023: Rubio: Biden’s Concessions Help Maduro Maintain Authoritarian Grip on Venezuela